Salina, U.S. to enter mediation in environmental lawsuit

Tuesday

A lawsuit between four local governments and the U.S. federal government regarding environmental pollution at the location of the former Schilling Air Force Base may be nearing a conclusion.

The Salina City Commission voted Monday evening to enter into a mediation process agreement with the federal government, which could bring an eight-year-old lawsuit, concerning soil pollution created more than 50 years ago, to a close.

The commissioners accepted the agreement following two executive sessions, which lasted a total of 50 minutes, where they discussed the matter with legal counsel.

Background

Personnel at the former Schilling Air Force Base, which was operated by the U.S. Department of Defense from 1942-65, used a toxic chemical to clean airplanes, which ended up in the soil, according to Utilities Director Martha Tasker.

After the base closed, its land was given to four local public entities: the Kansas Board of Regents, USD 305, the Salina Airport Authority, and the city of Salina. The Kansas Board of Regents operates K-State Polytechnic Campus on that land, and USD 305 leases its land to Salina Area Technical College.

In 2010, these four local public entities filed a lawsuit against the federal government to serve the interest of their community and protect Salina’s water supply, Tasker said. The four public entities are represented by environmental counsel Doug Curran in the lawsuit.

Tasker said that while the pollution does not pose an immediate threat to Salina’s water supply, it’s still an issue that needs to be resolved in the long run.

Feasibility Study

In 2012, the Salina public entities and the U.S. negotiated an agreement to enter a consent decree. Pursuant to the consent decree, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment ordered the local public entities to complete a remedial investigation and feasibility study. The local public entities chose Dragun Corporation to conduct the study.

Tasker said the study, which was originally estimated to cost $9.4 million, is near completion and under budget. The U.S. previously agreed to pay for 90 percent of the cost of the study, or $8.4 million, and the local public entities agreed to pay $936,300.

KDHE officials plan to hold a meeting in mid-March to discuss the results of the study and KDHE's subsequent corrective action decision, Tasker said. The meeting will be held at the K-State Polytechnic Campus Student Union, according to Salina City Attorney Greg Bengtson.

Mediation

Bengtson said the four public entities will use the results of KDHE's corrective action decision to enter into mediation with the federal government to divide the cost of cleaning up the pollution.

Under the mediation process agreement approved by the city commission Monday, half of the cost of mediation will be paid by the U.S. and half will be paid by the local public entities. The mediator will receive $517.50 per hour for mediation and facilitation services, and the parties estimate mediation will take about 150 hours.

The agreement states the mediator’s travel expenses will also be reimbursed.

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